looking for new Fantasy books
 

I am trying to find some new fantasy books to read and was hoping someone here might be able to suggest some.

here are some of my favorite series and authors

R.A. Salvatore all the Dark Elf series
Elaine Cunningham Starlight and Shadows series
Robert Jordan wheel of time
Terry Goodkind sword of truth series
Raymond E. Feist
George R.R. Martin


I am also a fan of the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton but have not really liked other vampire books I have tried.

Other Book Talkers feel free to join in &/or summarise
 

The person who started this thread asking for fantasy recommendations was a self-avowed Martin & Jordan fan. There are too many recommendations for me to summarise here but someone else might attempt it.

In this thread, started by someone interested in Brooks and Salvatore books, Guy Gavriel Kay was cited by a few as someone worth reading. I rather liked "Tigana" but haven't yet read much/anything else of his.

And here , among other authors, the thread starter was looking for "Martin-type" series. Tad Williams was mentioned once or twice here as well as in that first thread. I've been reading his Otherland SF series which is OK but not the masterwork I'd somehow been expecting.

We also have Vampire and Zombie threads which you may wish to peruse! Some Laurell K. Hamilton alternatives were suggested here: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=333538

The Weiss & Hickman Dragonlance series. It's up to you how deep you delve into it, as there are a lot of books. If you just want the basics:

Dragons of Autumn Twilight
Dragons of Winter Night
Dragons of Spring Dawning

After that, I'd say the Legends trilogy:
Time of the Twins
Test of the Twins
War of the Twins


If anyone recommends David Eddings to you, please for the love of all that is good in literature don't listen. Eddings material is interesting the first time you read it, but as you read other series by him, you quickly come to the realization that he uses the same trite plot for every series. People band together, go out into the world to find the object of power, gods get involved. Every time.

R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy
Steven Erikson's Malazan series

Greg Keyes Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series

For Fantasy, I'd recommend Williams' "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" series first. Somewhat derivative to be sure, but I greatly enjoyed it.

Robin Hobb keeps popping up in these lists as well, and I highly recommend her.

thanks for all the info, will have to write some of the titles down and go to the book store and see which ones look like I might enjoy them. I have been running out of stuff to read and have started going back and rereading some of my favorites

Some good recommendations in this thread. I like GGK, Tad Williams, Weis & Hickman's first 6 Dragonlance books, Hobb, Erikson.

Most of all, I'd recommend you pick up the "Legends" anthologies (there were two in hardcover, and I think they got split into more volumes in paperback. Each of the two volumes has about a dozen short stories by various fantasy authors set in their various worlds. So you get a Jordan short story in one (he later expanded it into the New Spring novella), a Martin short story in both, a Feist story in at least one (maybe both; I don't recall offhand) and a Goodkind story. It also exposes you to a bunch of other authors, so if you find one whose style you like, you can then go read that authors' other works.

Erikson's Malazan Series & Bakker's Prince of Nothing Series.

Those sound familiar...

Not sure if they fall under what you consider fantasy or what you like but the authors I read in addition to Laurrell K Hamilton:

Simon R Green --- Nightside series, I think Something from the Nightside is first
Rachel Caine --- Weather Warden series, Ill Wind is first book
Tanya Huff --- Blood series, forget the first book but then leads to the Smoke series
Jim Butcher --- Dresdin series, Storm Front is first book
Alan F Troop --- Dragon series, Dragon Delasangre is the first
Wen Spencer --- Ukiah Oregon series, Alien Taste is first
Kim Harrison --- Dead Witch Walking is first, but forget the series name
Charlaine Harris --- Living Dead in Dallas, forget series name

I know there are others I read but those are the ones that come to mind.

You might try some Charles de Lint; he writes new agey contemporary fantasy.

"Sandman" by Neil Gaiman. Ten volume graphic novel series from DC/Vertigo Comics by Neil Gaiman and various artists. Contemporary dark fantasy.

You also might want to give Michael Moorcock a shot. The Elric series would be a good place to start. I think the books are out of print, but I see tons of them at used bookstores.

Might be a bit too juvenile for the OP. Maybe a more appropriate recommendation for someone looking to graduate from Harry Potter novels.

Some of Bradley's Darkover novels are worthwhile. But all told, good fantasy is just really hard to find.

Have you ever read GRR Martin's vampire novel "Fevre Dream"? If you like his writing, this should be a must-read -- I believe it recently came back into print too (though it was always easy to find used).

What about the Monarchies of God series by Paul Kearney? I really enjoyed those.